


Third Chance

by katdr



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Ambiguity, Angst, Best Friends, Character Death, Developing Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Redemption, Regret, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, giving reki love, probably some praising kink, reki is loved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29842014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katdr/pseuds/katdr
Summary: Hasegawa Langa had his chance, no, Hasegawa Langa had two chances and he missed both of them.Reki is dead and Langa never got an opportunity to apologize, to confess, to give Reki the love he deserved or does he?After Langa loses Reki, he again becomes a shell of his former self. Life is empty and colorless without Reki and will never gain color again, until one day, Langa wakes up and notices that something off, the dates on the calendar didn't match and he looked like his first-year high school self and still got the uniform from Canada.It was the day of his transfer.Somehow, he got a second (or should he say third) chance in life and this time, he will make sure that Reki is happy
Relationships: Chinen Miya & Hasegawa Langa, Chinen Miya & Kyan Reki, Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 33
Kudos: 301





	1. The end (world 1)

**Author's Note:**

> I have an exam tomorrow, but if i don't write it down, I will forget it, so just a short chapter and I will update tomorrow.

Langa looked at the big bright smile of Reki. Smiling at the crowd like the ray of sunshine he is. But in comparison to Reki’s bright smile, the audience was the exact opposite. 

Langa didn’t know that Reki’s family was that big and he hates it that he only got to know that fact at the funeral of the latter one. 

Langa was sitting in his black suit, looking at the framed picture of Reki. It was surrounded by countless colorful flowers, colorful like his former best friend himself. He never imagined that he would attend a funeral this soon again after his father passed away, but here he was again, kneeling on a pillow and watching that black-framed picture of the love of his life smiling at him. 

After their fight, he wished to see Reki smiling at him once again. He wished so badly, but not like this. Not as a stupid framed picture, not at a stupid funeral. 

Langa felt numb and even the loud cries of Reki’s mother and younger siblings felt far away. 

Reki was dead. 

Langa will never see Reki’s bright smile and hear his loud laughs again. He will never see the redhead offering him his hand after a hard fall again, he will never see Reki scrunching his nose while frowning after he ate something too sour again. He will never see Reki pushing himself against him while being scared of ghosts again. 

Reki is no more. 

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The funeral ended without Langa really feeling anything. Reki’s family offered him a ride home, but he declined, not wanting to bother them anymore.

The walk home felt heavy, Langa’s chest felt tight and he had trouble breathing. 

Reki was gone 

Reki was gone 

Reki was gone 

Reki was gone 

Reki was gone 

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Langa kicked open the door to his house. Since it was a late afternoon, his mother was still at work at the hospital, which was probably good for Langa because he wouldn’t know how to face her right now. 

He quickly changed out of those disgusting funeral clothes and jumped into the shower, the hot water burning his skin was barely felt. Langa buried his face in his hands and let out a loud scream. 

Afterward, tears started to collect in his eyes and they quickly became big and heavy and shortly after, fell down his face. 

Langa didn’t cry at the funeral. He felt like it wasn’t his place to cry. Not after the terrible last conversation, he had with Reki. 

Reki did so much for him, but Langa? Langa never told Reki how amazing he was, how thankful he was for having Reki as his friends and…. how much he loved him. 

Langa let out a loud sob and soon after it turned into loud ugly crying while crouching down on the ground.

‘Nothing matters anymore.’

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Langa can’t remember how exactly that evening went, the only thing he knew was that his eyes were red and swollen while his throat hurt from all the crying when he went to bed. Falling asleep in agony, thinking how he deserves even more pain after what he did to Reki.

He felt disgusting and dirty and most of all, empty.


	2. The beginning (world ?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that they are second years, but I wanted the passage of time to feel longer, so they're first years uwu

It was a sunny day in late March, the sky was blessed with not a single cloud and the sun was shining down as if it would personally congratulate all the third years for their graduation. The cherry blossoms were gently flowing through the air blessing everyone around them with the light pink blossoms. 

One particular third-year student was standing in gaze in front of the big cherry blossom road in front of his school, not noticing any of his surroundings as the small pile of cherry blossoms on the top of his head showed. 

It was Hasegawa Langa and it was his graduation day.

Two years passed since the death of his loved one and it’s hasn’t been the same since then. The empty desk of the last months of his first year was quickly replaced with new students in the second and third year, their favorite place on the rooftop was now reserved for other students and couples. Reki was slowly fading from his life and now, on their graduation day, Langa would lose the last place that connected him with Reki. 

“Hey, Langa, honey, let’s take a good photo on such a beautiful day! Come the sun is shining just for you!”,

did his mother talk in her usual gentle voice while holding a camera directed at Langa’s face, but the light blue-haired man was in his own thoughts again, that Hasegawa Nanako had to slightly tap her son on the shoulder to get his attention. 

“Ah, sorry.”

Nanako silently took a photo and smiled at Langa again who gave her a weak smile back. 

Her son hasn’t been the same since the first years of high school when his best friend died, only shortly after the death of his father. Losing two people this close to him made her son being scared of connecting with other people and the glow in his eyes her son regained after spending time with his friend hasn’t been there for two years. 

“Congratulations! You are an adult now! It’s the first step into your new life! We should celebrate it tonight, any special wishes for dinner?”

“Not really.”

Nanako bit her lip and forced a smile. She knew how hard the recent years were for her son and the only thing she could do was to support her son.

“Then let’s buy a cake for this special day!”

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Langa was stuffed. His mother prepared a big dinner for them and they even had cake. He threw on a light jacket and was standing at the entrance of their house putting on his shoes while telling his mother

“I’m going on a walk, mom!”

“Sure, be careful!”

were the last words he heard before leaving the house and the chilly air of the late evening tickled his nose. Spring was in its full ride and the nights became warmer and warmer. Langa went down the streets which were lightened by the dim lights. He stopped under a street lamp that was broken. It was that place.

Every morning he waited under this street lamp for Reki who would greet him with a big smile and a high five before they both walked to school together and Reki would tell him about all the skateboard building magazines he read until late into the night with his passionate face and laugh.

Langa continued to walk. 

His next stop was a pair of stairs surrounded by bushes of a dark pink flower. This was the place everything ended, or should he say how the end started rolling. It was the place Reki told Langa his deepest feelings, how hurt he was, with which things he was struggling, hinting at the help and support he needed, but Langa was stupid at the time. He didn’t know the pain Reki went through and only followed his selfish desires of participating in that stupid tournament. The Langa at that time was a fool, not knowing how to read feelings, not knowing what to say. 

The current Langa was even more of a fool, still letting his regrets leading his life, still holding of words that never left his mouth when they should have.

Langa didn’t know how long he stood at the end of the stairs, but eventually his feet starting to carry him on, carrying him to the last destination of that evening. 

[Kyan family grave]

Langa stopped at the gravestone with the words 

[Reki Kyan] 

engraved into it, where he would lay down a hand full of the dark flowers from earlier. Afterward, he would sit down in front of the grave and starting his usual visiting routine.

“Hey Reki, sorry for those messy flowers, I promise I will bring more proper ones the next time. I hope you are fine and healthy wherever you are.. today’s weather was really good, I couldn’t see a single cloud the entire day, and even now, the stars are so bright today. 

I hope you can see them too wherever you are. 

Today was the graduation. I finally graduated. Mom was there too, I think she took some photos but I spaced out again, I hope I didn’t make her said again today.”

Langa paused and took a deep breath. 

“I think I’m making mom suffer. I’m a bad son. I’m a bad friend who is also a bad son. I’m a bad person, don’t you think, Reki?

I bet you would’ve graduated and smiling happily with your family on photos today. You would’ve eaten some delicious meal at Joe’s restaurant and skating a few rounds at the skate park, wouldn’t you?

Joe.. I wonder how is he nowadays, I haven’t touched a skateboard for two years now and it’s been about two years too since I stopped talking to Joe and the others.

…

…

…”

\---

“So it’s been really late, Reki. I will visit you again. Hope you stay well, I love you”

Langa groaned when he stood up. His legs fell asleep again, a usual occurrence during his grave visits. 

It was now night, as the stars shined brightly down the sky. The moon wasn’t present, causing the stars to only shine brighter. Langa walked back home, going past all the spots he did on his way earlier that were reminders of Reki.

When he arrived home, he quietly told his mom a 

“I’m back”

before he disappeared into his bedroom. In there, he immediately threw himself on his bed and closed his eyes. 

He would move on with his life, going to university, getting a job, and all of them without Reki. Langa would go on with his life while Reki would be frozen in time, forever. 

Tears started to come out of Langa’s face while he thought about the last segment of his life with a connection to Reki and from this point on, it would be a lifetime without Reki. Drowning in his own tears and sorrow did Langa fall asleep.

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[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

“Langa, hurry up, or else you will be late on your first day of school!”

Langa felt as he misheard his mother talking about school when he only graduated yesterday. He was tired out of his mind when he reached out for his alarm clock and stopped the alarm. 

‘Huh, why are there moving cartons in my room? Why does it look so empty here?’

Langa was confused as his eyes scanned his room, when the door was suddenly opened, causing him to flinch.

“Come on, Langa! You can’t be late on your first day in school! Hurry up!”

as quickly as his mom entered his room, she also left into the kitchen, where the smell of miso soup and fish came. 

Langa looked at his door, where a uniform was hanging neatly on a cloth hanger. It was a yellow blazer with a black tie, the uniform he had at his old school in Canada, but the sight of the uniform was quickly forgotten, as now the Calender of the snowy mountains of Canada on the wall has taken all of his attention. 

  
  


XXth March of 2018

did the calendar show. Langa jumped out of his bed and ran in front of the calendar where he held the pages with both of his hands. This calendar.. he remembered clearly throwing it out years ago, why was it still hanging in his room?

Langa scanned his room further when his gaze stopped in front of his wall mirror. 

He touched his face in front of it to confirm that it was in fact a younger version of him. His hair, which he completely chopped short after Reki’s death was the chin-length of his 17-year-old self, his cheeks that lost a tremendous amount of fat due to stress were round and chubby again and his eyes that were deeply sunken gained their old sparkle too.

Langa’s body was undoubtedly 17 years old again. 

“Then… I went back in time?”

He didn’t seem to believe his own words that came out of his own mouth. 

XXth March 2018… 

It was his first day of school in Okinawa, back when he freshly moved from Canada...

It was the first day of meeting Reki...

“Reki...”

Langa seemed to finally process all the new information and his new, but yet familiar environment as he quickly changed into his uniform and went into the kitchen, where his mother was already at the door saying goodbye as she was leaving for her shift at the hospital. 

“I’m sorry that I can’t drive you to school, but I hope you have fun and make a lot of friends, see you later, honey!”

*click*

and the door closed and Langa was left alone in the kitchen in front of a homecooked hearty breakfast. 

Langa sat down and started to eat while trying to calm himself and his crazily fast-beating heart. 

‘I’m 17 again and this is the first day of school. That means… I will go to class and meet Reki… Reki…..’

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“Everyone be seated, today we have a new transfer student.”

Langa’s heart started beating wildly and he tried his best to show a poker face. In just a few seconds he would enter the classroom and see Reki. 

As he got in, his eyes immediately stopped at the redhead who was busy doodling in his notebook. Langa didn’t pay much attention during the first time, but now his eyes were only focused on Reki. The rest of the class seemed to be blurred dots compared to Reki who was shining so brightly and was so noticeable out of the crowd of classmates. 

He wanted to run towards Reki lift him up and hug him, he wanted to feel Reki’s skin and his wavy hair under his finger, he wanted to hear his beautiful voice again and listen to his heartbeat. The heartbeat of an alive person..., but Langa restrained himself, as that would only weird Reki out and Langa would lose his chance to be friends with Reki before they even talked.

  
  


“Please introduce yourself.”

It was at that moment when Reki and Langa made eye contact. Reki’s eyes had a certain degree of innocence and life in them, something that would be lost later on. Having a chance to see them once again filled Langa with so much euphoria that he couldn’t help but to set on a big smile while keeping his eye contact with Reki. 

“Hello, I’m Hasegawa Langa, nice to meet you.”

Langa’s eyes were entirely focused on Reki and his words were directed at Reki and Reki only. The redhead took all his attention, that he didn’t hear any other people at all 

  
“Is he a foreigner?”

“He’s cute!”

Reki seemed to be slightly flustered by Langa's stare, as he quickly broke off eye contact and he continued to doodle into his notebook. 

“Now, let’s see… ah! You can sit next to Kyan-san.”

Langa didn’t need to hear it twice as he quickly approached his favorite place in the world, the place next to Reki. 

Langa’s heart didn’t seem to calm down as it was beating so fast and loud and he missed the entire lecture. 

When the bell ringed and the teacher left the classroom, Langa turned around to see Reki still doodling into his notebook. His social skills still weren't good at all, but he tried his hardest to start a conversation with Reki. 

“What are you drawing?”

Reki seemed to be caught off guard, as he flinched causing Langa to flinch too.

“Huh? You’re interested?”

Reki looked at him with big sparkling eyes and Langa tried his hardest to hide his blush 

“E-eh, y-yes! It looks... like a skateboard design? That’s.....cool!”

Reki became visibly flustered as his ears and cheeks slightly turned red and he slightly scratched his cheeks, showing how he isn’t used to compliments and admiration. 

“Y-yes, but it’s not much of a big deal, I’m not that good at it.”

“But it really looks amazing. You're..talented.”

'Damnit"

Langa thought, wanted to compliment Reki more, but his head was completely blank about what possible words he should say next. 

“T-thank you...I-I-... my name is Kyan Reki”

  
“Hasegawa Langa.”

“Hahaha, I know who you are, you only introduced yourself 40 minutes ago! So… you wanna skate?”

“Yes.”

Langa smiled when he saw Reki’s eyes lighten up. 

“I work part-time at a skateboard shop, if you want, I can pick out a board for beginners for you”

Reki seemed to be nervous as he was anticipating Langa’s answer, but a simple 

“Yes”

from Langa made every worry Reki seemed to have disappeared as he held his hand for a high five. 

“Awesome! Let’s go after school!”

did Reki proclaim in an excited voice that sounded like pure heaven in Langa’s ears. 

  
  


The part of Langa's hand that gave Reki a high five felt hot. Reki's hand was rough, probably from all the woodwork he did on those skateboards, but most importantly, they were warm, they were alive. Langa could touch Reki again. 

Reki stepped into his life again, alive and well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Langa did nothing wrong at all and I don't blame him for anything, but as someone who can resonate with Reki, I can understand how frustrating it is to work so hard to see your own worth (or to be overly conscious about your own abilities and improvement). And while Langa worked super hard to learn skateboarding, he was supported by his natural talent, which Reki didn't have. This caused Langa to have less pressure, as he can completely concentrate on his skating, while Reki is in that constant state of worrying about falling behind, which is exhausting!  
> That's why I love writing fanfics where Reki doesn't have to do anything while Langa has to work hard towards something (Reki's love)  
> I want Reki to not worry about anything and learning that he is super talented on his own and even if he wasn't, that he would be loved nonetheless as he's amazing as a person himself


	3. The trigger (world ?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was rather boring since I had to set the story, but I tried to make it more interesting with Langa's thoughts and him simping for Reki since it may be interesting to view things through Langa's perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a proud Reki supremacist, as you all probably know and whenever I write about Langa simping for Reki, is it really Langa simping or me? lol  
> English isn't my first language and Reki's eyes reminded me of amber, you call it Bernstein in german (I had to translate it, cause I didn't know lol) and it's really really pretty as the orange and yellow reflect the light through that gem and it reminds me so much of Reki sparkling eyes when he's passionate about something and I love it so much. I read fics where people talked about amber eyes, but I never associated it with the gem, since I didn't know what that actually meant. But now that I know I can't help myself to not associate amber with Reki cause they're both so pretty. I just like Reki so much. He's just so beautiful when he's talking about his passion and he views skateboarding with so much love and he always was open-minded to help people get into skateboarding since he loves people who share the same interest and not like these people who gatekeep skateboarding so much.   
> The girls in his life just have no taste, imagine not giving this perfect man valentines chocolate. I would confess ON SIGHT. (I wrote a fic about Reki getting the chocolate he deserves if anyone is interested in checking out lol)

After the lessons ended, Langa found himself in the shopping district near the skate shop Reki was working part-time. Since it was a weekday, it wasn’t very crowded. 

Langa could smell all the various food stands the shopping district offered, as Reki was skating right next to him on his signature skateboard, adapting to Langa’s walking pace. Reki’s hand was in bandages, from which Langa knew where from the previous beef the redhead had, but he didn’t bring up that topic on purpose. 

“Hm.. here looks good.” 

Reki jumped down from his skateboard and handing, but he missed the timing of grabbing it with his hand, which lead to the skateboard rolling further aways

“Ah! Langa grab it”

Langa quickly reached out and stopped the board with his feet. 

  
  


‘It’s been a while since I stepped on a skateboard.’

were his thoughts when he carefully set his feet on the board, which lasted only a few seconds before he couldn’t feel the ground beneath his legs anymore as he lost balance and fell. Langa laid on the ground for a few seconds until he realized what just happened. It’s been a while since he made such a beginners mistake, well in this timeline, it was actually the first time

‘I guess my body functions reset after going back in time’

  
  


“Ahahahaha, you’re not injured are you?”

Reki looked Langa up and down for injuries, even grabbing some strands of his hair that were hanging into his face and checking his head for injuries. Langa felt his ears getting warmer as Reki’s gaze lasted a few seconds, but Langa couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the amber-colored eyes of the man in front of him. Their eyes met for a short time before Reki quickly let go of Langa’s hair and face and turned around with his skateboard in his hands. The light blue-haired boy was too busy being flustered himself that he didn’t notice the redhead’s ears glowing in a similar color as his hair.

Reki set it down the ground and moved into Langa’s direction.

“Here, I show you how you do it”

And there he went. Langa, who was still laying on the ground like the first time Reki did this in the other timeline and watched how the redhead skating towards him and jumped with the board before it hit his head. 

It felt like time stopped, as Langa watched Reki’s grin when he was above him in the air and Langa felt like falling in love again with the same man. Reki’s thick curly hair was flowing through the air and he closed his eyes for a moment midair before opening them again shortly before he landed. Reki always was perfect in every possible way, but he looked the most perfect and happiest while skateboarding. 

  
  


“...” 

Langa couldn’t bring out a single word, as he just stared at Reki with his mouth wide open. His heart rate jumped up and was still at a high when Reki reached out his healthy hand to help him up. 

‘Can you even fall twice and this hard for the same man?’

Langa thought while trying his hardest to close his mouth. 

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“Were you listening Langa?”

Langa suddenly was ripped out of his daydreams when Reki was slightly tapping his shoulder while two of his fingers were pulling the seam of his shirt. 

“Huh?”

“Haha, guess you were not, I was talking about  _ this _ ”

Reki excitedly showed a black badge and Langa got goosebumps because he knew  _ exactly  _ what the pin was for. 

‘S’

It was a pin with a black side and when it was flipped over, it showed a red and white S with a yellow background that was pierced through with a red arrow. 

“It’s called S and it’s a really cool skating competition in the empty mine here! It was really difficult to get you a badge, so you better be thankful for the highly Reki here”

Reki grinned into his face while holding the badge a bit too close to his face. 

“All hail Reki.”

did Langa say in a monotonous voice while being secretly amused by Reki’s cute behavior. 

“Okay, come to my house after your shift tonight, we can get there on your motorcycle! See you later, Langa!”

“See you.” 

With these simple words did Langa see off Reki and he turned around in the direction of his house. 

‘S, huh’

The thought of S tonight was the source of Langa’s worries. It was the beginning of all. It was the race that made him fell in love with skateboarding with Reki and also the race that led to doom. 

‘Isn’t it better to never participate in it? So I will never make the promise with Reki and I will never break it.’

_ “I can’t keep up with you guys anymore. I… We simply aren’t a good match anymore” _

Reki’s voice was still echoing in Langa’s ears after all these years and timelines. 

_ “Skateboarding and S... Those are my happiness” _

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The place was just like his memories, a crowded place with people in skimpy costumes and makeup, followed by the scent of heavy perfume and alcohol, the place called S. 

Langa’s palm started to get sweatier and he felt his own fingers shaking. The intense feeling of nervousness only increased the further they went in and the place got more crowded. 

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“You skate it! It was your fault in the first place! Own up to it and skate it!”

Langa closed his eyes on reflex and slowly opened them as the blonde skateboarder was pointing his finger at a nervous Reki. 

Langa completely forgot the reason why Reki was forced to battle Shadow injured in the first place. They messed up an order and mixed up some skateboards, which made that crusty blonde bastard angry and pushed Reki into the limelight. Langa felt pure anger coming up inside him and tried his hardest to not let Reki race injured. No matter how much Langa wanted to change the present, everything was better than letting Reki do this dangerous race injured and potentially really bust open his arm. Langa let out a quiet sigh and his face was filled with determination as he went towards Reki and slapped away the finger that was pointing at Reki. 

  
  


“I will skate in his stead.”

  
  


‘This event can’t be avoided, let’s do it with minimal damage possible’

  
  


“Huh, wait, Langa, did you ever stand on a skateboard before?”

“HAHAHA, crushing a newbie??? The best thing ever!!”

Shadow started to approach Langa and his painted face looked like it was Langa in every possible way as Shadow tried to intimidate Langa.

“AHAHAHAHA yeeeess! I can’t wait to crack open your skill HUAHAHAHAH”

Shadow continued to laugh maniacally, but Langa couldn’t bear to listen anymore and directly went to grab the duct tape and the old busted skateboard. 

‘It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve ever done this.’

“Let’s go”

“Huh? Langa?? You can’t do that! What if you get hurt? You can’t jump off if something happens”

Reki looked at him with a concerned and panicked expression and Langa held back the hardest not to find this Reki cute. He was cute though. 

“I can’t let you do it injured”

Langa gave Reki a small smile while putting his hand on Reki’s head, patting down his hair.

“What you mean you can’t let me do it?? You couldn’t even stand on a skateboard on your own?? How will you-”

“I will skate, it will work out”

“...”

“...probably”

“Probably???? You- Haaaahhh....Don’t go too fast or be too reckless, Langa.”

Langa smiled at Reki’s warm words. 

“I won’t”

His voice was confident and decisive as he decided on a path that was parallel to the first timeline, but Langa can still change things. 

It wasn’t too late and at this moment, Reki’s well-being was above anything else. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the next chapters, I won't be as close to the original anime anymore, as Langa's behavior will start to influence the current timeline heavier.  
> (and I promise not to simp too hard for Reki in the author's notes anymore lol)


	4. Something special (world ?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I guess it's a date? I promised to make it extra cheesy and romantic 😤😤😤

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English isn't my first language and idk if my word choices in this chapter sound weird lol, but overly cheesy chapters are my specialty!  
> Not much simping for Reki today, but I made two Spotify playlists dedicated to Reki and Langa!  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6WRV1yWeA8J7uFOoGSNEyE?si=bdddb78691164761  
> this one is about spending so much time with Reki, that you can't help but to notice that you love him (platonically or romantically, doesn't matter), you just realize yourself, how much you love Reki.  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0S9jB2exRq2kmOwXADqeff?si=c9d0ecc5886f45f9  
> and this one is skating down the highway with Langa. This has nothing to do with today's chapter, but imagine a nice afternoon sunset and Langa yawning while having a sleepy smile on his face!

The moment Langa brought his skateboard to a stop, his heart was loudly pumping against his chest and his loud breath was filling the air as the crowd around him was completely quiet. 

“Langa!”

Langa turned around and saw Reki running towards him and just like the first time did the redhead throw himself against his body. Langa felt the rough hair of Reki tickling his neck as Reki’s arms wrapped around him. He hesitated a bit before he looked down into sparkling amber eyes, only focused on him.

“That was amazing! Where did you learn it like that? Snowboarding? WOW”

‘Definitely worth it’

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As the first timeline, did Reki teach Langa the basics of skateboarding, but in comparison, Langa was not as hyperfocused and determined to learn all these moves that fast. 

‘The faster I learn, the less time I can spend time with Reki like this’

Langa thought, which was a mistake, as it distracted him and he lost balance over his skateboard again leading to another fall.

“Langa! Man, you need to be careful! It’s your third big fall today!”

“....blood! I’m bleeding!!”

Langa looked at his bleeding palm. The sight of blood was something he would never get used to. 

“Don’t be a baby, it’s just come, I bandage it for you”

Reki reached out his hand for Langa to grab, which the blue-haired boy did and Reki’s warm hand, contrasting to his own cold one was fueling him with warmth once again. The parts of skin that were touched felt hot and Langa felt his ears rising in temperature. 

Reki led him to a bench on the side of the skate park, holding his hand the entire time until they sat down. Afterward, he rummaged in his bag to get out a bag of bandaids. 

“Here! Everything’s fine!”

Reki gave Langa a light pat on his hand, causing him to slightly flinch 

“But, dude! Your hands are so big! I never thought mine were small, but in comparison to yours, what is this!?”

Reki put his own palm against Langa’s and continued to admire the size difference. Langa was halting for a second, but then he clenched his fingers together, locking Reki’s fingers and their warmth in his palm. 

Reki's rough hands felt as if they belonged in Langa's hands. Langa wanted to kiss them, to feel the rough edges and the small blisters from the woodwork. He wanted to rest his cheeks in those hands, kiss them, touch them _more_.

'Patience, Hasegawa, Patience'

“Huh?”

Reki gave out a nervous noise and Langa could see the surprise in the other boy's increasingly flustered face. 

‘Cute’ Langa thought before he said 

“Well small hands are good at handling screws and skateboard material”

Reki’s hand was let go shortly afterward to Langa’s own disappointment. Reki collected himself quickly, as he didn’t hesitate to jokingly punch Langa on the side.

"Uff!"

  
“Bastard, what do you mean, small hands! Yours are just big! That's the foreigner in you, just look at your height!”

Reki laughed at him while his fist still was formed menacingly infront of Langa’s face, but the tone of the conversation changed when Reki kept quiet for a bit until he asked with a hesitant voice

“.. You still having fun?”

  
“Huh? Why shouldn’t I?”

“Well, you injured yourself quite a lot..”

Langa looked down, to notice the slightly anxious expression on Reki’s face.

“Don’t worry, I won’t quit or anything, especially when I have a personal nurse who’s taking care of my wounds.”

“Idiot! What you mean by ‘personal nurse’ !!! You really asking for a second punch”

“Hahahaha, calm down Reki, I’m only joking”

“Haaaaaah, you… but you’re pretty amazing you know! Your improvement has been crazy! You’re super talented, Langa!”

“Only because of my amazing teacher”

“You really know your way with your words”

Langa and Reki looked at each other before they broke out in loud laughter together. Reki’s carefree laughter was echoing through the park and Langa could see little tears forming in his eyes as Reki was holding his stomach.

“You wanna ride an S soon?”

Langa didn’t hesitate at all with answering this question

  
“Not really, skating with you like this is much more fun”

-

-

“Come to my house after dinner! The weather tonight seems good, so I want to show you my favorite place!”

‘Huh? Reki never showed me his favorite place before?’

Langa was perplexed for a moment but didn’t wait long until he answered 

“Sure.”

-

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It was a warm night in Okinawa, but in contrast to the past few days, the sky was clear, not disturbed by a single cloud and the more they left the city, the brighter the stars became, while the bright light of a nearly full moon was lightening up the path infront of them. It was after dinner time, which meant most of the people already went home after work, leading the streets to me mainly empty. 

Hasegawa Langa on the other side didn’t notice any of that, as he was busy catching his own breath and wonder how long they will climb this hill. 

It’s been 20 minutes since they arrived at the bottom of his hill and Reki lead him to a nonconcreted path, that had a high possibility of not being a path at all. Bushes and twigs seemed extra vicious in Langa’s eyes as they blocked his path with their density and the hill itself seemed to be sent by the devil with its steepness. 

“Reki….. I’m dying….”

Langa coughed out, out of breath. 

“Come on Langa just a little more”

Reki wasn’t tired at all and even if he was, he didn’t leave such an impression at all as he happily hummed while getting some twigs out of their way. 

-

It wasn’t ‘a little more’ as half an hour later, they finally reached the top of the hill. The bushes and trees opened and nothing blocked their path or their view anymore. That was the first time, Langa noticed the stars that night. 

“....Wow…”

Thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of stars were visible, shining so brightly as if they are performing for only the two of them. The chilly air felt especially fresh that moment as quiet noises of cicadas were heard from a distance. 

Reki only grinned after seeing Langa’s mesmerized expression 

“Right, right? Tonight’s weather is really the best! Not a single cloud! But that’s not even the best, come here!”

Reki walked a few steps ahead until he stopped and set his board on the ground.

*clack*

“Reki! You traitor!”

Langa cried loudly while copying Reki. 

“How dare you making me walk up that hill when there was a perfectly fine concrete road on the other side!”

Langa’s skateboard also set on the concrete road with a small 'clack' noise. 

“It’s only fair to work hard for a view like this and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if you already know the route we take!”

“Route?”

“Yes, you also can’t wait to skate this hill down, can you?”

Reki didn’t wait for Langa’s answer as he set both of his feet on his board and started to get rolling. 

Langa didn’t need to be told twice what to do, as he jumped on his board and rolled down the hill. 

The cool Okinawan night wind was tickling his ears and the air never felt this fresh before as Langa was sliding down the hill. He sped up a bit to catch a with Reki who seemed to has slowed down for him, but once Reki saw him, he started to speed up a bit again. 

“Awesome, isn’t it?”

“...Yes” 

Langa was just overwhelmed with what was infront of his eyes. The perfect sight of the bright moon, the stars, who seemed like they were following them down the hill, and Reki, who looked at him with a friendly and warm smile.

“This is my favorite place of all time. The view here is amazing, but it's truly the best on nights like today!”

Shortly after Reki finished his sentence, the path of dense trees disappeared and Langa had an open view of what was infront of him. Alongside the thousands of stars in the sky, tiny lights could be seen in the distance, lights of cars moving, and lights of the lively nightlife of the city. Langa couldn’t even put in words how beautiful the view was, of course, Reki and his smile being the center of all of it, truly made the scenery into an art piece. 

The light blue-haired boy closed his eyes for a moment to let the wind hit against his loose shirt and body and simply let the fresh air into his lungs.

He thought his heart was thumping when he skated a beef in his last life, he thought it made him felt alive, but those mere thumps were incomparable to what he felt at this exact moment. He never felt this alive and this happy to be alive before. Time itself seemed to become blear and his entire body felt warm and fuzzy.

“I love this...”

Reki’s expression seemed to even brighten more after seeing Langa’s happiness toward his favorite place, but nonetheless, did he had a knowing grin on his face.

“Right? It’s the best! Let’s do this often, Langa!”

“Yes...let’s do this often.”

'This is really something else.'


	5. Second Chance (world 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Langa's second chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't kin Langa or anything, but if you had to ask me who I can relate to more, it would be actually Langa. I'm actually a bit weak towards sunshine people who smiling and are lively all the time. They are my type 👉👈  
> Maybe that's why all my sk8 fanfics are written from Langa's pov 🤔

_ “We simply aren’t a good match anymore” _

_ Strong rain drowned Reki’s weak attempt to bring out the last bit of his voice, but those words still managed to reach Langa. Not only did they simply reach Langa, but they also touched the deepest part of his heart and ripped it off. Reki, the reason why his life gained color again after the death of his father, the reason why his heart beats so fast while he’s skating, the other side of himself thinks they’re not a good match anymore.  _

_ “Reki… please” _

_ Langa called after Reki, choking his name itself was a great effort as Langa felt his own heart quieting down and a cold veil was drawn over his chest. He looked at his own hand that was reached out in Reki’s direction to see them tremble.  _

_ Reki’s back, which usually was leading him, lively and confident, looked distant and cold as if it was a stranger’s. His silhouette was starting to disappear into the rain and Langa thought for a moment before he started to run after Reki.  _

_ “Reki...Reki!!”  _

_ Langa felt his throat getting hotter as the pain stopped him to scream his friend’s name further. No matter how much he yelled Reki’s name, no reaction was given in return and only silence.  _

_ “Reki, please look at me..” _

_ Langa finally caught up to Reki as he grabbed the arm, but no reaction ever came from the redhead. His rough hands that always felt so warm and inviting were just hanging loosely in his own hand, cold and lifeless. Those amber eyes that were always full of admiration felt empty and tired.  _

_ Langa didn’t recognize the person in front of him anymore. This wasn’t the Reki he knew. This wasn’t  _ **_his_ ** _ Reki. The shock of your closest friend feeling this distant made Langa loosen his grip on Reki’s hand, leading Reki to leave.  _

_ Langa, being still in shock, couldn’t do anything other than just helplessly watching his best friend disappear around the corner.  _

_ When the shock finally started to settle, the next emotion Langa felt was panic. Pure panic. He just let a friend go. He just broke the promise between them. He needed to apologize.  _

_ ‘Let’s give him room and not bother him too much. Tomorrow is a school day and I will still have the chance to apologize to him.’ _

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_ Little did Langa know at that time that it was the first chance Reki gave him and Langa unknowingly destroyed the little bit of self-confidence that was left in Reki that day.  _

_ From that night on, Reki started to avoid Langa, in school and in S. Well, he wasn’t seen at S at all. S, something that was part of his happiness no longer was a place Reki felt welcomed at, it was no longer a place where he felt free and appreciated. Instead, it became a place of pain, of broken promises, a place where he is seen as the guy who always loses, the guy with no talent wasting their time.  _

_ All of this was of course not known by Langa, who was trying his hardest to get another chance to talk with Reki.  _

_ This chance would be his second chance Reki gave him. Reki still liked Langa and held him high in his heart. A broken promise was nothing compared to the time they spend together. Reki always saw Langa as his closest friend, his best friend, maybe even something more, but Langa never got to know Reki’s feelings, because the second chance was the last chance in his life and in Reki’s life.  _

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_ “LANGA!!!!” _

_ When Langa turned his head, he saw Reki at the sidelines screaming his name. His heart, which was so quiet the entire first half with Joe suddenly started to become loud again and the roads in front of him became clear again.  _

_ His body started to fill itself with adrenaline as the gap between himself and Joe started to close. Using Joe’s strength to his advantage led him to win the race eventually, but shortly after he brought his skateboarding to a halt, the wood underneath his feet gave in and the sandy ground of the abandoned mine was felt.  _

_ “Oh no…!” _

_ The board broke into two pieces which Langa held in each of his hands.  _

_ “You think I can get it fixed?” _

_ His gaze was directly at Joe who was standing beside him. The latter one inspected the board before saying _

_   
_ _ “I think it would be better to just buy a new one” _

_ “...I can’t do it if it’s not with this board.” _

_ “It’s because Reki made it, isn’t it?” _

_ Joe was looking at Langa with a warm smile _

_ “What if you ask Reki to make you another one?” _

_ “Yes... You’re right, excuse me! I’ll leave early” _

_ Langa’s feet started to move faster and faster until he was running. When he reached the place Reki screamed his name, the redhead already was gone  _

_ “Excuse me! Have you seen a redhead in a green hoodie here?” _

_ “That guy just left 5 minutes ago.” _

_ “Thanks” _

_ Once again did Langa start to run, the dense trees around the abandoned mine disappeared as he left the gates around S.  _

_ Langa could see Reki’s silhouette moving in the distance and his heart started to beat faster. He fastened his steps again causing his side to hurt, but he nonetheless didn’t stop. When his hand reached the shoulder of his best friend, he was completely out of breath _

_ “R-Reki, haah haah, you haah are here!” _

_ “Yeah, not much longer, I’m on my way home.” _

_ “But you came!” _

_ Langa smiled at Reki. If Reki really hated him, he wouldn’t have come right? _

_ “Yeah... I did…” _

_ “Are you okay? We haven’t talked for a while! I won the race against Joe” _

_ “Good for you, that has nothing to do with me, though” _

_ “It has! I only won because of your skateboard, but it’s broken now…” _

_ Reki finally turned around and Langa sighed in relief. The relief really was short-lived as Langa froze when he saw Reki’s angry expression. _

_ “I understand now, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You want me to repair your board.” _

_ “Yes, but I also want to apologize to you! For breaking our promise” _

_ “So you want me to repair your skateboard to continue skating against ADAM and continue breaking our promise. Stop spouting excuses about being sorry, just say you want a new board.” _

_ “N-No! Reki, I-” _

_ “I thought I was your friend, that’s why I worried about your safety. But I understand now ‘Know your place and just repair my skateboard’ I’m not someone you want to ride with. I’m just the dude who made you your skateboard. Enough. I won’t do anything more for you” _

_ Langa was unable to move let alone bring out another word. Seeing Langa being frozen into place, Reki simply scoffed and put on his hoodie back one as he turned around and left.  _

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_ “Reki! Please can we talk?” _

_ It was difficult to get a hold of Reki after school since the boy always quickly disappears after calls and doesn’t go to S anymore.  _

_ “...” _

_ A tired face turned around and Langa held his breath while looking at the emotionless face of Reki. Reki always was someone who carried his heart open and his emotions were readable like a book, but the face that was looking at him right now, only showed sadness and deep bags decorated the eyes of that boy.  _

_ A loud sigh came out of Reki’s mouth before a weak smile was given to Langa. _

_ “Good, let’s talk” _

_ Langa carefully breathed out in relief. It was too early to talk about reconciliation, but Reki showed no signals of anger directed towards him, meaning there still was a chance.  _

_ Reki walked ahead and Langa silently followed him. It was a late afternoon during June and it was the rainy season in Japan making the air wet and stuffy while dark clouds loomed above them. When Reki stopped, Langa found himself in a park. It was the park Reki taught him ollies when he first started skateboarding. The time spent here was rather short since there wasn’t much in there suited for skateboarding, only a flat sandy surface. When Langa looked around he noticed their surroundings decorated with various bushes of hydrangea flowers, colors varying from a light purple to a dark intensive blue. Since the rain supplied them with plenty of water, they fully bloomed and Langa could see rainwater from the shower that morning dripping down the petals.  _

_ “Good, what you want to say” _

_ Reki ripped Langa out of his thoughts and being suddenly put into the limelight, he started to stutter out his words _

_ “I- I am sor-sorry.” _

_ “For what?” _

_ “What?” _

_ Langa’s mind suddenly became blank after hearing the coldness in Reki’s voice.  _

_ “For what are you apologizing?” _

_ “....I’m sorry that I broke our promise…” _

_ “You are not sorry.” _

_ “N-No I am sorry.” _

_ “You broke our promise, not only once, but twice and after losing to SNAKE, you come to me to apologize.” _

_ “No! Reki, it’s not like that, I-” _

_ “Save your words. Your actions were loud enough. I was not good enough for you anymore, that’s why you left me behind didn’t you?” _

  
  


_ “No, Reki! You are good! It’s because it was not your board, I lost to SNAKE” _

_ “Oh, hah! So you’re telling me it was my fault that you didn’t get a chance to skate against ADAM??” _

_ “No!” _

_ “Hah! Right? Not only my skating skills aren’t good enough to skate with you, but my skateboards aren’t that good either. Isn’t that why you quickly changed your board to another one after having your big talk about how you can only skate with my skateboards? Look at your own words, Hasegawa Langa!” _

_ ‘This is not good at all. The conversation is all over the place’ _

_ Langa thought while trying his best not to have a panic attack.  _

_ “B-But I lost the race against SNAKE, doesn’t that show that I can only skate with your boards?” _

_ “No. It only showed me how quickly you were able to abandon me and my boards. ‘Oh, that dude that made me skateboards doesn’t want to anymore? let’s just get a new one. He’s replaceable after all.’ Isn’t that what you thought?” _

_   
_ _ Reki spitted out his words and Langa could hear him choke on them.  _

_ “Reki, I didn’t think like that at all! I-” _

_ Langa immediately stopped talking when he saw that tears were running down Reki’s face. He could see Reki’s jaw being tense while his hands balled into fists.  _

_ “Langa… I always thought you were amazing...., how fast you learned skateboarding and how good you became. But as fast as you learned, I learned another thing. I’m… not as good as you and never will. I accepted the fact that I have no talent. I’m not amazing at all, but as long as I could skate with you on my side, I thought it was okay. It was fun with you, but you grew so fast, I just couldn’t keep up with you anymore... My worst fear was being thrown away by you and you did. I wasn’t as amazing as Adam anymore, so skating with me was no fun anymore, huh? And when I didn’t build you a new skateboard, you quickly found a replacement for me. Remember me telling you about my friend quitting because he got hurt? Remember me worrying that you'll get hurt? Yeah, you don't. Skating this dangerous with such an amazing skater as ADAM. Tells a lot about who you really want to skate with." _

_ “...” _

_ Langa felt tears collecting in his own eyes. He never thought Reki had thoughts like this. Reki never talked about his feelings, but he couldn’t blame Reki either, because he never asked Reki about his feelings.  _

_ “Reki, I think you are amazing. Skating with you always was amazing and fun and your skateboards are the best.” _

_ “For you. I lost everything while skating with you. S was my happiness… Building and skating Skateboards was my happiness. With you, I was no longer Reki, that guy that was passionate about S and building boards for anyone, but that loser that always lost races and clings to SNOW’s fame. My whole identity from before I met you was completely overwritten. Everything I built there for me was forgotten. All these years before are gone. I don’t have a place there anymore. You destroyed my happiness, Langa.” _

  
  


_ ‘I destroyed Reki’s happiness’ _

_ Words hit hard and Langa finally felt his tears, which were only waiting, rolling down his cheeks. He always thought Reki was the best skater, the most amazing skater. He thought everyone saw Reki in the same eyes as him. Reki being so amazing at teaching that he could improve this fast, Reki being able to see flaws in skating style by simply glancing at the deck of a skateboard. Is there even someone out there more amazing than Reki? _

_ “T-That’s not true! You’re not a loser! Not everyone thinks about you like that! What about Cherry and Joe, Miya and Shadow… and me…” _

_ “Haha, stop making me laugh! Do you really think they would be friends with ME? The best skaters in S with some random highschool dude? They only hung around us because of YOU, the new rookie prodigy SNOW. I was just your sidekick, your decoration! How did Miya always call me? Slime, right? Just some easy opponent, not needing to be taken seriously. They never were interested in me, only in you.” _

_ Langa gulped while choking out further tears. He never was someone who was good and reading the room or his surroundings, so he never knew if their friends were actually around Reki or Langa. He never paid attention, thinking that everything would be fine since Reki was smiling at him. He could’ve never guessed that Reki felt like this. That Reki felt unwelcomed and unloved in their circle. Langa took a few steps forward towards Reki and grabbed Reki’s arms with both of his hands  _

_ “Ow!” _

_ Reki let out a sound indicating the grip was too tight and he was in pain.  _

_ “I-, Reki, but I don’t think like that at all. I, I love you Reki, I fell in love with you since the first time I saw you!” _

_ Langa wasn’t ready to confess his feelings now, at this moment, at this atmosphere, but he needed to say something, he needed to reassure Reki. He could see Reki’s eyes widen for a moment and the painful expression the redhead had made his heart feel like it was stabbed with a thousand needles.  _

_ “Langa, I don’t think you’re in a position to say that anymore.” _

_ A sudden veil of cold was overdrawn Langa’s entire body. He felt cold and heavy. Reki didn’t turn down his confession, nor did he accept it. For Reki, he didn’t even have a right to confess anymore.  _

_ “...” _

_ “I don’t think I have anything more to say to you, I quit skateboarding, don’t talk to me anymore, we have nothing to do anymore, Hasegawa-san.” _

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When Langa woke up the next morning, heavy tears were running down his face. The nightmare he had last night was too much for him since he dreamt about the last conversation with Reki in the other timeline. His breathing was uneven and he held his hand in front of his mouth, trying to regulate it. Langa started to hyperventilate as he had trouble breathing in the air. But as soon he caught a glimpse of the pink flower on his desk, he was able to calm down.

Yesterday night, he and Reki skated down that hill under the stars and when they arrived at the bottom, Reki laughed at him pointing at his head as an entire flower was stuck into it. It must have been when they were hiking the dense bushes when it got stuck there and Langa kept it as a memento of that special night. 

Langa slightly touched the soft pink petals that withered a bit since last night with the tip of his finger. The flower had a sweet scent and looked lovely in comparison to those sad hydrangea flowers during that day. He gave the petals a light kiss before he set them back into a small vase on his desk and got dressed into his uniform. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really good at writing scenes like these sorry😔 I can't wait to write fluffy cheesy scenes again
> 
> Please don't blame Reki nor Langa for what happened! I kept some things ambiguous on purpose, but I say, that neither Reki's view nor Langa's are the absolute truth. 
> 
> The next chapter will be happier and Miya will appear! It should come out in the next few days and thanks for reading!


End file.
